Old Town Hall Clock

You have the historical atmosphere of Old Prague literally at your fingertips. The Town Hall Clock, the heart of the historical center, is directly in front of the Grand Hotel Praha. It is one of the most famous and oldest astronomical clocks in the world and is certainly one of the most sought-out of Prague's monument. You can enjoy the view of it directly from your room's window and admire the work which has been, for many centuries, the symbol of Prague's history.

According to an old tale, the clock was built by mythic master Hanuš. Fearing that he could repeat his marvelous work for other cities, Prague's councilors are said to have assaulted and blinded the poor man. Master Hanuš, who suspected who was responsible for such a crude act, avenged himself - he inserted his hand in the machine and the clock stopped. For the next 100 years, it is said that nobody was able to repair Prague's astronomical clock.

The clock, with its origin in the early 15th century, was renovated and amended several times throughout Prague's history. Towards the end of the 2nd World War, it was damaged during the fire of the Old Town Hall, being attached to its tower.

The Town Hall Clock consists of the astronomical clock and a calendar. Its parts show the positions of celestial bodies, the Sun and Moon. The calendar is decorated with paintings of the twelve months and the zodiac by the famous painter Josef Mánes. But the most interesting is the upper part of the Town Hall Clock. At the top of each hour, you can see figures passing by the two little windows, representing the twelve apostles holding their saint symbols.

Along with them, figures representing a knelling grim reaper, a coxcomb admiring himself in a mirror, a niggard with a bag of gold in hand and a Turk as the allegory for lust also move by. Another legend is related to the grim reaper figure - it is said that if it breaks, bad times are coming up. The entire show, which no single visitor to Prague should miss, is closed by the crowing of a gold cock.

The clock is, along with the Old Town City Hall, a national cultural monument and forms an integral part of Old Prague, to which the Grand Hotel Praha also belongs.